Warunya Thongrod
More than two years after national public-health officials began
regulating drinking-water vending machines, Pattaya still has not
cleaned up its dispensers, with more than 200 providing below-standard
water.
“Operators still do not understand maintenance processes, thus, there is
contamination,” Public Health Office Director Suphaphorn Cherdchaiphum
told a July 10 meeting with water vending machine operators.
More than 20 percent of Pattaya’s approximately 1,000
water-vending machines were found to have unacceptable levels of
Coliform bacteria, up to a 56 percent concentration. Random tests also
found substandard quantities of hard metals, Public Health Office
Director Suphaphorn Cherdchaiphum said at a July 10 meeting with machine
operators.
Coliform bacteria, including the potentially deadly
e.Coli, include bacteria that are found in the soil, in water influenced
by surface water, and in human or animal waste. Health effects,
including diarrhea and vomiting, can occur within two to 24 hours.
The national Public Health Ministry in June 2011 made water machines
subject to regulation and Pattaya’s own Sanitation Department
recommended of that year that the city follow suit. Yet by January 2012
the Pattaya City Council still had not adopted the national rules,
despite random tests that still showed widespread contamination. While
the city made some changes to its laws in 2012, apparently they are not
being enforced or understood.
Faced with another batch of poor test results, the
Public Health Office brought in medical science authority Busabong
Sujarae and Pharmacist Yongyuth Issra-anttapong from Banglamung Drinking
Water to speak on water filtering for vending machines and educate
operators on the Pattaya laws covering drinking-water machines.
“Operators still do not understand maintenance processes, thus, there is
contamination,” Suphaphorn said. “Due to this reason, Pattaya has issued
a law to control the quality of water to be free of contamination, the
law was not issued to control the business but to make certain of
citizens health.”
She said the biggest problem is machine owners are not maintaining or
changing filters.
